Whatever Happened to Fine Olive Oil?

[shel]

There used to be several grades of olive oil available: Extra Virgin, Extra Fine (or fine), and just regular olive oil. The Extra Fine was a second pressing. I've not seen it around in years. Is it still produce and brought into the US?

Shel

[Miz Italy]

According to Wikipedia...what was "fine" is probably now "virgin".

Retail grades in IOOC member nations
Since IOOC standards are complex, the labels in stores (except in the U.S.) clearly show an oil's grade:

• Extra-virgin olive oil comes from the first pressing of the olives, contains no more than 0.8% acidity, and is judged to have a superior taste. There can be no refined oil in extra-virgin olive oil.
• Virgin olive oil has an acidity less than 2%, and judged to have a good taste. There can be no refined oil in virgin olive oil.
• Olive oil is a blend of virgin oil and refined virgin oil, containing at most 1% acidity. It commonly lacks a strong flavor.
• Olive-pomace oil is a blend of refined pomace olive oil and possibly some virgin oil. It is fit for consumption, but it may not be called olive oil. Olive-pomace oil is rarely found in a grocery store; it is often used for certain kinds of cooking in restaurants.
• Lampante oil is olive oil not used for consumption; lampante comes from olive oil's ancient use as fuel in oil-burning lamps. Lampante oil is mostly used in the industrial market.

What olive oil do you prefer for your cooking?

Miz Italy

[m brown]

DiBruno Brotheres, Fairway and Trader Joes have private lable, sooo good.
And they let you taste before you buy.

We used to have a member, Papa, he imported a wonderful olive oil that I dare not cook with, just dress salads and dip fresh bread.

[cape chef]

Originally Posted by m brown

DiBruno Brotheres, Fairway and Trader Joes have private lable, sooo good.
And they let you taste before you buy.

We used to have a member, Papa, he imported a wonderful olive oil that I dare not cook with, just dress salads and dip fresh bread.

M, Do you still have some of his olive oil? I did a Greek olive oil/cooking demo with him a # of years ago, I found his oils some of the finest produced.

[Mezzaluna]

I LOVED Papa's oil. I wish he'd drop in! Anyone know of a way to find him? CC, didn't you meet him?

His oil was pure essence of olive to me. It was a sad day when that bottle was empty.

[cape chef]

Remember Mezz?


http://cheftalk.com/forums/showthrea...highlight=papa

Edit to add, before spell check

[Dagger]

I buy my olive oil at costco.

[Mezzaluna]

Remember Mezz?

Very fondly, Cape Chef. I hope he's well, just sailing in a different arm of the sea for now. I can't taste a new oil without thinking of his.

[m brown]

Papas site:

http://www.olivetree.eat-online.net/

The Romeu Oil site:

http://www.quintadoromeu.com/olive_oil.html


I am giddy!

[BigFoot]

Let me establish up front I'm as American as you can get, so I'm not some guy from outer Mongolia bad-mouthing the U.S.

I died laughing when I read your question inquiring about grades of olive oil in the United States. In the U.S. you get one grade of olive oil, it's fit for running lawn mowers — not for food. Our grading system is a fraud. Virtually all (thankfully, with the possible exception of olives grown and pressed in California) the labels on oils we encounter in our markets are figments of a marketing guy's imagination. Do you really believe an American label that says 100% Virgin Olive Oil or such baloney phrases (in this country) as first pressed, cold pressed, etc? In the united States it is perfectly legal to refine inferior oil and call it 100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

In Europe, by law, when you buy olive oil, or even beer, there are strict labeling laws. In the United States, our entrepreneurs invent whatever label sounds impressive to them. I don't know from experience, but I'm told that California growers adhere to strict, self imposed standards, and I suppose you can buy fine oil from them with harvest dates to guide you — but you'll pay for the privilege.

I go to Europe on business only because I have to — but while I'm there I taste olive oil like you only dream about here in the states. When you buy expensive olive oil from specialty shops, count yourself lucky if it's not rancid. In a word, olive oil is a crapshoot in the U.S.

[m brown]

when in europe, pick up some cases of olive oil and hook us up!

the
romeu olive oil
was like wine....

[BigFoot]

I'm not sure if you're putting me in my place or just kidding around — but I was serious when I said that olive oil sold in Europe is what it says on their labels. I'm not an expert on anything, so anything I endorse could be engine oil, but I remember buying olive oil from Costco, when I lived in Chicago, it at least was dated. The quality — good, bad, or indifferent aside, you were assured that weren't buying oil from two or three harvests ago.
.
We Americans will get decent olive oil when we demand it. In my mind it's criminal to allow supermarket O.O. to be labeled cold pressed, or first pressed, Extra Virgin Olive Oil when it's not. They have have all been refined to reduce the acid level to that of real Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

I don't want to be misunderstood, let me say it this way: American bottled olive oil is a perfectly good product and deserves to be in the American kitchen if it is honestly labeled — I just get ticked off when American producers call it: first pressed, Extra Virgin Olive Oil. No laws are broken in the U.S. when oil pressed from pomace is labeled Extra Virgin Olive Oil! That is wrong and wouldn't be tolerated in the ECU.

[m brown]

Just agreeing with you!

I usually try before I buy and have had good luck at the places I had listed above.

My folks go to Italy and will bring back Olive Oil.

and i confess, i use blended oil for basic home cooking. ( on sale at the stop and shop for 6.99 for the gallon. living on a budget.)

[mochefs]

It's true that America as a country does not comply with the european guidelines on olive oil, however with a little education it's not so difficult to know what you're getting *if* you know what you're looking for.

In the case of California olive oils, look for the seal of Extra Virgin certification from the California Olive Oil Council (COOC) and check the date of certification (even EVO oils eventually age beyond Extra Virgin standards). The COOC follows International standards when classifying California olive oils as Extra Virgin

Producers who receive this certification from COOC will definitely put it on the label.

For foreign olive oils purchased in the US, it is more difficult. (Foreign oils purchased overseas are subject to labeling requirements, and thus are trustworthy.) Check the label for an indication of authenticity, such as a D.O.P. (Denomination of Origin Protection), which in Spanish is D.O., in French is A.O.C. and in Italian is DOP Additionally, check for a vintage date, and be suspicious of bargain prices. Finally – and this applies to all uncertified extra virgin olive oils – take an educated guess, and see what you get. You can find uncertified ones that are quite good in flavor, it's just riskier.

[Ishbel]

Whenever I'm in Spain, Italy, France or Greece, I always bring back a stock of olive oils - many bottled on the estates where the olives are grown. Between my husband and I, we make sufficient trips (thank goodness for cheap European travel) to keep us more or less well-stocked at all times.

In fact, we're off to France in a few weeks, through the channel tunnel to pick up supplies of wines and oils.